Thursday, May 17, 2012

Foreign investment, in a holding pattern

Raul Castro declared
as early as 2007 that Cuba needs more foreign investment, and the Communist
Party’s economic reform blueprint reiterated the point: more foreign
investment, from more countries, with projects evaluated more promptly and
according to broader criteria.

But not a great deal
has happened, as Reuters
reports.One long-time investor,
Unilever, is pulling out, and the golf course projects remain in the “any
minute now” status where they have been for years.

The current reforms
are being rolled out on a timetable that extends to 2015, so maybe everything
is right on schedule.One wonders if the
iffy health of Hugo Chavez is causing a re-assessment of the timetable.

Meanwhile, the Economist reports on the
arrest of a British subject some weeks ago, and El Universal reports on foreign
capital flowing in to invest in houses and businesses.